More Employers Embracing Auto Enroll: Profit Sharing Council

In its annual survey of 1,000 401(k) and profit-sharing plans, the Profit Sharing/401(k) Council of America found that 41% of plans had automatic enrollment during the 2006 plan year.

Employer contributions averaged 3% in 401(k) plans and 9.2% in profit-sharing plans. The most common formula employers use is a fixed match, with 29% doing this. Of them, 32% matched 50 cents per dollar up to the first 6% of employee contributions, 9% matched dollar for dollar up to 4% of contributions, and 8.5% matched dollar for dollar up to 3% of contributions.